


Ryan's Magical Journey

by RomanticRuby, singingmousai



Series: Tales of Afflia [1]
Category: Bandom, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Dragons, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Magical Realism, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-08 23:49:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12875667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanticRuby/pseuds/RomanticRuby, https://archiveofourown.org/users/singingmousai/pseuds/singingmousai
Summary: One day, Ryan stumbles across a mysterious shop. Inside it holds the key to an amazing journey that he never expected he'd ever experience. He finds love and learns to be less of a dick.





	1. Really Witches, no, really, I mean it

Out of the blue one day, a building appeared across the street. It wasn’t built in a day, or even an hour. It just appeared in the time it took to take a breath. It easily stood out from the surrounding buildings; the bricks were worn and scorched in places, the bright, garish sign shimmered iridescently, nearly blinding Ryan while he stared at it. 

He grumbled as he grabbed the ornate doorknob, turning it slowly. The bell above the door chimed, signaling his entrance to all who were inside the building, which was aptly named "Beckett's Magical Menagerie". 

"Welcome!" called a loud voice, making Ryan nearly jump out of his skin. Which of course, he didn't, as that was impossible. As was a whole building appearing out of nothing. But of course, fate loved to prove him wrong.

"Um…" Ryan so eloquently muttered, looking around. The shelves were lined floor to ceiling with strange objects, some of them Ryan had never seen before: glass bottles of all shapes and sizes filled with strange liquids, ornate boxes, some of which were shaking, and the most mundane of all, books. 

It smelled like too much incense was burning at once. It was almost unbearable.

"So, how can I help you~?" purred the same voice from earlier. It belonged to a tall, stick thin man.

"Is this real, or have I been drugged?" Ryan replied, looking very unamused by the other man. 

The taller, and skinnier, man laughed loudly, nearly pushing the objects off the countertop. Ryan stared at him, miffed. The man smiled up at him, Ryan wasn't quite sure when he had stopped laughing, and waltzed around the counter, walking towards Ryan.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," the man said, leaning close to Ryan's face, making him back up slightly, "You look awfully cute though~"

"Your store just kind of appeared out of nowhere," Ryan huffed. The man blinked, clearly surprised about the whole situation.

"Huh… did it? I hoped it would at least give you guys a warning first… " he muttered, turning around swiftly, and walked back towards the counter. Ryan stared warily at the man, not sure what he'd do next.

He clapped his hands together loudly, startling Ryan. The door behind him opened and a shorter man walked out, rubbing at his eyes.

"Ugh, Bill, c'mon, seriously?" the other man muttered. Ryan mentally referred to him as "Scruffy". The taller man, or apparently "Bill", just laughed, and patted Scruffy on the shoulder. Scruffy rolled his eyes fondly at Bill and walked around the counter, before finally noticing Ryan standing there awkwardly.

"Oh, hey there," he squinted, seemingly looking simultaneously at and through Ryan at the same time, "Huh, he doesn't have any magic, Bill."

Ryan blinked, blushing slightly, and then made a noise of confusion.

"Magic? Of course I don't have magic, it's not real." he said matter-of-factly. Scruffy chuckled. 

Bill paled slightly, "Jonny, I um, I think we landed in a place without magic…" 

"Jonny" looked over to Bill and also paled. He ran his hand through his hair, sighing.

"Well, this is just… peachy." Jonny sighed. 

Ryan stared in confusion. These guys were making absolutely no sense. 

"Bill, why the hell are we here?" 

"I don't know! This shop is… weird. You know that just as well as I do." 

The two stared at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation.

Finally, after a moment, Bill raised his hands in the air, groaning.

"Fine! You can tell him. But don't come crying to me if he doesn't take this well."

Jon grinned triumphantly and turned to face Ryan. 

"So pal, you probably have no idea what's going, right?" he asked. Ryan nodded dumbly. Jon smiled at him.

"Wellll, you see, me and Bill here aren't from here," he said, waving his hands around, "We're from a place called Afflia. It's a very magical place." 

Ryan stared, unbelieving, "That's bullshit."

Jon rolled his eyes and snapped, a small flame covering his index finger. Ryan screeched and tried to put out the fire, but to no avail. Jon laughed loudly, dismissing the fire. 

"What the fuck was that?!" Ryan yelled, his eyes wide, "That's not possible! That shouldn't be possible!" he grabbed his head, shaking it rapidly. 

"Hey, hey, calm down, man," Jon said, trying to pat Ryan on the shoulder. Ryan brushed his hand off, glaring at him. 

Jon sighed, "Anyway, I wasn't done, man," he moved to lean against the counter, "So, as I was saying, Afflia is a place filled with magic and magic users of all walks of life," he grinned fondly. 

"Most people are human, but there used to be elves, keyword "used" to be," he looked down, "They were kinda, hunted to extinction. They had the innate ability to use magic, so, people wanted it for themselves…" he trailed off, noticing Ryan's expression. 

"Elves? Seriously… what are you on, man?" Ryan sighed, staring at him with slight concern. 

"Not a thing, dude," he said, grinning easily. Ryan groaned. 

"Wanna see something cool?" Jon smiled, making a small, see-through wolf pup, "See, it's a puppy! Everyone loves puppies!" 

Ryan screamed loudly, scrambling away, "No!" he stared at the pup with wide eyes, "I'm hallucinating, I have to be!" 

Jon slowly approached him, "Hey, c'mon man, relax....," 

Ryan stood and tried to make a beeline for the door. His vision started to fade slightly and he stumbled. He fell to his knees as his sight got more blurry, "Wh-what's… happening?" 

He looked over at Jon as he spoke, but he couldn't make out any words. He slumped forward, passing out.


	2. I dream of Brenny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan dreams about a boy, Spencer gets to kiss Jon. This chapter is very gay.

There's a tower in the middle of a blue forest. It's tall and the stark white color of the bricks stand out from all the blue. Bricks are crumbling in some places. Ryan squints up at the tower, his short, auburn hair being teased by the gentle breeze. He suddenly begins to float up the tower towards the topmost window. He squawks, flailing, but then catches himself.

He leans forward. The window is ornate and the thick curtains part to show a man curled up on red, velvety sheets. He's shivering, his brown hair is dirty and matted. Thin fingers are clinging to the sheets, dirt caked under his nails. 

Ryan gasps. The man looks towards the source of the noise, brown eyes dull, and sits up, brown hair moving to reveal delicately pointed ears. He sighs, eyes beginning to well with tears, and upon spotting Ryan, gasps, running to the window. 

There's a sudden bright light and Ryan wakes up to Jon hovering over him. He screams loudly, sitting up, and Jon bursts into laughter. Bill runs into the room, eyes frantic, and notices Ryan's face. He also bursts into laughter. 

Ryan rubs at his face, the feeling that everything up to this point is very much real slowly beginning to creep up on him. Jon looks at him with concern, but Ryan waves him off. He shakily stands up, making his way out of the room, pushing past William in the process. William rolls his eyes and goes to follow Ryan. 

"So… " Ryan begins, leaning against the counter, "Magic, huh? It's real? Could one of you… teach me?" he looks up at Jon, who's making his way slowly down the stairs.

Jon stares back, "Sure, I mean, you actually believe us?" he asks, skeptical of Ryan. Ryan huffs, pushing off the counter.

"Not really, but if it is real, I want to know it." he said, matter-of-factly. Jon nods, patting Ryan on the shoulder, "Well," he starts, "if you really wanna know, I guess I could teach you." 

William scoffs as he passes them by, "I'll pass, thank you." Ryan glares at his back, extremely offended. Jon giggles, an actual fucking giggle, holy shit, and smiles at Ryan.

The bell above the door jingles, alerting the two to a newcomer. Who, in fact, is someone Ryan knows all too well. 

Spencer Smith is standing at the front of the store, in all his scruffy, long-haired hippy glory. His blue eyes squint as they take in the decor, and he smiles brightly as his eyes land on Ryan. Ryan smiles back and rushes towards him, hugging him tightly. Jon smiles at the two of them in confusion. 

Jon clears his throat and Spencer looks at him from over Ryan's shoulder. He grins at Jon, and Jon grins back, fireworks beginning to pop behind him. Spencer's eyes widen and he pushes Ryan away, ignoring his protests. 

"Woah, was that, real?" he asks, jogging towards him. Jon just stares in shock. Spencer grins at him.

"Well, was it?" he asks, smiling sweetly at him. Jon nods his head dumbly. "Woah…" Spencer said, eyes wide.

"Can you teach me?!" he asks, placing his hands on Jon's shoulders. Jon squeaks, and nods again. Spencer cheers, hugging Jon tightly, smushing Jon's face into his shoulder. He awkwardly hugs back. 

Ryan stands back, admiring the two of them, a small smile on his face. Jon sighs, nuzzling into Spencer's shoulder. Spencer pulls back, "So, like, where are you from?"

"Oh, um, I-I'm from a place called Afflia, it's pretty neat, I guess." he replied, shrugging. Spencer nods, clearly wanting Jon to tell him more.

"It's uh… a really magical place," he begins, "it's pretty peaceful, but there have been a few wars in the past, mostly between the humans and the fair folk, I mean uh, elves." 

"Elves, like the pointy eared kind?" Ryan pipes up. 

"Yeah… how'd you know?" Jon asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

Ryan shrugged, "I read a lot of fantasy novels as a kid."

Jon nods, "Okay, that makes sense…," he looks up at the ceiling, "I guess," he adds. 

Ryan rubs at his ear, "I um, before you woke me up, I dreamt about an elf, I guess," he blushed, "he was kinda cute… but he was trapped in a tower." 

Jon looks back at Ryan, eyes sad. Ryan shrugs, not looking at him. Jon sighs and Ryan looks up, noticing Jon's sad expression. He felt like he just kicked a puppy. An extremely scruffy and tiny puppy. 

He rubbed his ear, feeling very awkward about the situation he's in. 

"I uh… I should go," he says, moving to leave the store. Spencer moves to stop him, but Ryan just pushes past him. 

Spencer stares at his retreating form in surprise. Jon moves to stand next to Spencer, placing a hand on his arm. He looks at Jon and Jon looks back. There's a moment of silence, and suddenly Jon's leaning forward, eyes fluttering shut. Spencer follows suit, when there's a bang, and the two jump apart as if they'd been shocked.

William is stepping out of the back room, carrying several boxes in his arms. He stares at the two of them, as they stare back, faces bright red. 

William turns on his heel and walks back into the back room. Jon looks up at Spencer.

"So… you're pretty cute..," he says, face turning a pleasant pink color.

"S-so are you…," Spencer stutters, face still a bright red.

Jon bites his lip, "So uh, do-, do you wanna try that again?" he asks, looking up at Spencer from under his eyelashes. 

"Y-yes please…" Spencer responds. Jon cups his cheeks and leans forward, kissing him sweetly. Spencer sighs, placing his hands on Jon's hips, kissing back. Jon rubs his cheeks softly and Spencer hums, smiling into the kiss. 

They part, both breathing heavily, faces red.

"W-wow…" Spencer breathes. Jon grins softly at him, pecking Spencer on the lips. Spencer squeaks. 

"So… you wanna go out sometime?" Jon asks, a smirk playing on his lips. Spencer nods wordlessly. Jon pats him on the cheek and lets go of him. Spencer's hands slip from his hips and he clears his throat.

"Well, I did not see that coming," he chuckles shyly. Jon chuckles and winks at Spencer. He rolls his eyes, grinning. 

"Well, I uh, I have to go make sure Ryan isn't doing anything stupid." Spencer says, grinning awkwardly. Jon laughs and pats Spencer on the arm.

"Have fun, I hope you come back soon." he says, smiling up at Spencer. 

Spencer pulls Jon into a tight hug and makes his way out the door. 

 

 

Spencer opens the door to the apartment he and Ryan share, a small smile on his face.

"Hooooooney, I'm hoooooome!" he calls, pulling off his jacket. He hears a loud groan coming from the living room. Spencer snorts and walks into the living room, where Ryan is stretched out onto a couch, his long limbs dangling off the edge.

"So, why'd you leave, Ryro?" Spencer asks, moving Ryan's legs up, sitting down. Ryan shrugs, hiding his face in the cushion. Spencer sighs. 

Ryan peers up at him, "Do you believe in magic? Like, do you think he's telling the truth…?"

"I think he is, he's too nice to lie." Spencer shrugs. Ryan sighs and sits up, rubbing his face.

"I just, this whole thing feels like a dream…" 

Spencer stares at him, "W-well, it's real to me, Ry…" 

"Y-yeah, I know, Spence, I'm sorry…" 

Spencer stood, "I'm going to bed, g'night Ryan…" 

Ryan watches him go, a frown on his face.

"Night…"


	3. Bubble Bubble and Shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun chapter to write, Spencer is such a lil shit ggg I love him so much you guys

Ryan awoke to the smell of coffee wafting into his room. He yawned and sat up, stretching. He stumbled out of bed, rubbing at his eyes. 

In the kitchen, Spencer was sitting at their dinky table, sipping his cup of coffee. Across from him sat another cup, which happened to be Ryan's favorite mug. Ryan smiled softly at his thoughtfulness. 

"So…” Spencer began, looking up at Ryan, an eyebrow raised. Ryan sat in front of him, not responding right away. He took a long sip of his coffee, gathering his thoughts.

"Yesterday, at the store, I um, had a dream…" he said, looking at the table. Spencer nodded, urging him to continue.

"I uh, I saw a man… he was, like, an elf. He was trapped in a tower?" Ryan blushed, "He had really nice brown eyes, like Jon's, but richer? I guess?" 

Spencer nodded again, a smirk playing on his lips. 

"Ryan, that's gay." 

Ryan glared up at him, "Says the guy pining after Jon." Spencer glared back, huffing. Then he laughed loudly, "You're damn right I am." Ryan rolled his eyes, chuckling.

"Asshole," he said.

"Dick," Spencer shot back.

They grinned at each other. Then Spencer stood, walking over to Ryan's side of the table, pecking him on the cheek. Ryan smiled up at him, a faint blush on his cheeks. Spencer chuckled, and made his way into the living room, pulling on his coat. 

He looked back at Ryan, who was staring at him fondly, "See ya, Ryro." 

 

Ryan stared at Jon, who was hovering over what looked to be a medium-sized cauldron. He was humming to himself, stirring what Ryan could only assume was a potion of sorts. Jon moved to crush something in a mortar. Ryan tilted his head, a sweet smell drifting towards him. 

Ryan admired Jon, staring mostly at his forearms, watching the muscles shift as he grinded the mysterious thing. Ryan licked his lips subconsciously. Jon noticed Ryan finally, and looked up, a soft smile on his face. 

Jon's smile was like home, warm and inviting. And made Ryan even more gay than he already was. He returned the smile, albeit sheepishly. 

He walked over to the counter, leaning against his forearms. "So…," he began, peering into the cauldron, "Whatcha makin'?" 

Jon chuckled, "Just a simple healing potion, it's for a friend. I just need one last ingredient, some petals from a Twilight Wolfsbane." Ryan nodded dumbly, not understanding or believing a word Jon was saying. 

Speaking of magical things, Ryan remembered the shelves directly behind him. He turned to look at them over his shoulder, curiosity getting the better of him. He turned, walking over to them. Jon smirked at him, moving to dump the powder into the potion. 

Ryan walked down the aisle, inspecting things that caught his eye. Weird, egg-like things, fairies in jars?? (Were those real?) Several potions and books. He frowned, picking up one of the eggs. It was warm to the touch. 

"This is weird." he mumbled, turning the egg over in his hands. He could vaguely feel a heartbeat. He quickly placed it back on the shelf. He felt Jon place a hand on his waist.

"Hey,", Jon said, leaning against him, "whatcha lookin at?" 

Ryan shrugged, "Your weird magic shit." Jon gently picked up one of the eggs, smiling softly at it.

"Did you know dragons take about a week to fully mature into adults?" Jon said, softly. Ryan stared at him, exasperated. 

"Sure, Jon," he conceded. Jon sounded like he knew what he was talking about, so Ryan would humor him. For now. 

Jon chuckled, lifting his hand, and ruffled Ryan's hair. Ryan blushed slightly, turning to look at something else to hide it. 

"So, uhm, how do people like, learn how to do magic?" Ryan questions, looking over at Jon, once he was sure his blush was gone.

"Well, you just kinda, do? Well, it's actually a bit more complicated than that…," he bites his bottom lip in thought, "You don't really need to have any innate power, of course, but you do have to find it." he looked up at Ryan, doing that weird thing where he looks at and through Ryan. Ryan shivered. 

"It's really weird to be around people without any magic," Jon said, smiling at him. 

Ryan snorted. Jon laughed loudly, gently grabbing Ryan's hand, "C'mon, I wanna show you something." he gently tugged Ryan towards the back room. 

Inside, there were several boxes and other miscellaneous "magical" things, including a silvery blue egg on a velvet cushion. It reminded Ryan of Spencer's eyes. Jon tugged him over to a smaller box on a nearby table. 

Jon began to rummage through it, "I want to show you where I grew up," he said, pulling out a photo album. He flipped a few pages, stopping on a page filled with pictures of victorian-looking buildings. 

"This is Wintergarde, I lived here for most of my life, it has a huge elf population," he smirked, "Some centaurs too." 

Ryan rolled his eyes, and scanned the page, one picture in particular standing out to him. It looked like a cleaner looking Brendon, clad in a red vest and a cravat, of all things. He had a bright grin that made Ryan's chest hurt. He looked so happy. 

"Jon? Who's that?" he asked, pointing at the picture. He had to be sure he wasn't seeing things.

"That? Oh, that's Brendon! He's an adopted member of Bill's family." 

"I… saw him in my dream. He… um, n-never mind, it's not important." Ryan said, rubbing at his ear. Jon looked up at him, not believing him. 

"You saw him, huh? Did you see where he was?"

"N-no, not really, I-I didn't get a good glimpse at it…"

Jon nodded, frowning, "Well, at least I know he's okay!" He grinned up at Ryan.   
Ryan grinned back awkwardly. "S-so, what's he like?" 

Jon immediately perked up, "Oh wow, he's like, the sweetest person ever! He can sing so well?" he blushed, "He's always been there for me, yanno?" 

Ryan didn't know what to say, and instead patted Jon on the back. Jon smiled gratefully at him. Ryan smiled back, then sighed. "Tell me more, Jon." 

 

Ryan flopped face first into his bed, sighing dramatically. He rolled onto his back, closing his eyes. 

Ryan was standing in the room he saw Brendon in. Said elf was laying on his bed, eyes closed. His breathing was shallow, it looked almost like it hurt to breathe. Ryan slowly walked over to him, gently sitting on the edge of the mattress, close to Brendon's head. The sudden shift in weight made Brendon's eyes shoot open. 

He gasped and shot up when he noticed Ryan. 

"Wh-who are you…?" he asked, shaking slightly. Ryan stared in surprise– Brendon's voice was nothing like he imagined. It was deep, but had a soft quality to it. It was also slightly hoarse, as if he had been screaming for several hours. 

"I-it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you! M-my name's Ryan, you're Brendon, right…?" Ryan said softly, placing a hand on Brendon's shoulder. He flinched slightly, making Ryan's heart hurt. Brendon stared up at him through his eyelashes, the light of the oil lamp reflecting off his deep brown eyes. Ryan stared back, in awe. 

Brendon lifted a hand, placing it on Ryan's cheek, "Y-you don't have any magic… do you?" Ryan shook his head, not sure how to really respond. Brendon smiled sadly, kissing Ryan on the forehead, "Thank you for keeping me company." 

"Wh-where are we…?" Ryan asks, looking around the room. The decor was strangely fancy for how threadbare Brendon's clothing was. There was a large standing mirror in one corner, a chest of drawers in another. A large bookshelf, a desk, and a large plush chair.

"The Night Spire…, the home of Seth Masters, the-" he cringes, "The man who kidnapped me." He rubbed at his eyes, trying not to cry. Ryan wrapped an arm around his waist, feeling just how emaciated Brendon really was. Brendon let out a shuddery breath, leaning against Ryan. 

Ryan lifted a hand, running it through Brendon's unkempt hair. Brendon melted against him, humming. Ryan smiled softly. Brendon looked up at him, eyes wet with unshed tears. 

"I'm going to rescue you," Ryan began, hesitating slightly, "I don't know how, or when, but I will, I promise…" Brendon smiled sadly up at him.


	4. In Which There Are Dragons

When Ryan arrived at the store, William and Jon were busy with several customers bombarding them with question after question. He chuckled softly and dashed over to a shelf in the far back of the store, near the counter. He peered up at several wriggling boxes, a confused look on his face. The wriggling stopped and he blinked, becoming even more confused. He shrugged and moved to grab one of the spell books off the shelf. He flipped through the book, trying to find something of interest. 

 

The pages were covered in strange runes, making Ryan's head spin trying to read them. He put the book back on the shelf, making a note to never try  _ that _ again. He shook his head, moving over to peer into some boxes. Glowing red eyes stared back at him, and he squeaked, stepping back. 

 

He looked back over at the counter, noticing the back room being unguarded. He grinned, leaping over the countertop. He peered over at Jon to make sure he wasn't looking, and rushed inside the back room. 

 

The room was different to how he remembered. The boxes that were strewn about were now neatly stacked. The pedestal with the pillow and the egg were now in the center of the room. Well, an egg-less pillow, rather. He frowned, where did the egg go? Suddenly, there was a small peep from the floor. He looked down, and spotted a small, silvery blue dragonling. 

 

Ryan's eyes widened comically as he flailed backwards, landing on his ass. The dragon-thing let out another peep and dropped something onto his lap. It's a shiny, silver pocket watch. He stared at it for a long time before pocketing it. The dragon puffed up it's chest, looking proud of itself. Ryan blinked.

 

He slowly reached over to the dragon, which bumped its forehead against his palm. He smiled slightly and picked it up. It purred and curled up in his hands. It was about the size of a kitten, and extremely warm to the touch. He slowly stood, trying not to drop the dragonling. It fluttered up to land on his shoulder, making itself at home. He chuckled and walked out of the room. 

 

Jon looked over at him as he exited the room. He grinned over at Ryan and the dragon, his eyes sparkling happily. He walked over to the two of them.

 

"So, I see you've met Silver," he said, grinning. Ryan blinked and looked over at the dragon, or Silver. Silver just peeped and nuzzled against Ryan's cheek. Ryan chuckled and ran his finger over her scales. She purred and melted against him.

 

"She's just a day old, but she's getting so big!" Jon gushed, "She should be full size in about a week!" Ryan chuckled, amused at Jon's enthusiasm.

 

Jon walked over to Ryan, a soft smile on his face, "You know, I think she likes you," he said, patting Ryan on his unoccupied shoulder. Ryan nodded, face getting red. Jon leaned forward, closing his eyes. Ryan followed suit. His lips hesitantly brushed against Jon's. Jon cupped the back of his head, kissing Ryan firmly on the lips. Ryan sighed, kissing back.

 

Silver began to tug lightly at Ryan's hair, wanting attention. Ryan sighed and pulled back, looking over at the dragon. She peeped and he lifted a hand, lightly scratching her scales, cooing at the dragon. Jon grinned fondly at Ryan. Ryan chuckled.

 

Above them, William stood, staring at the two with an amused expression.

  
  
  
  


The door to the coffee shop jingled as Ryan walked inside. He waltzed over to the counter, smirking at Spencer, who was busy making coffee for an extremely pretentious looking man. Spencer made eye contact when he handed the guy his coffee. Ryan slid over to stand in front of him, leaning well into his personal bubble, "The usual," he purred. 

 

Spencer sighed, glaring at Ryan, "Of course." Ryan pecked him loudly on the cheek and walked over to a table, sitting down unceremoniously. He pulled the watch out of his pocket, inspecting it. It's silver, with various symbols etched into the metal. He flipped it open, noticing an inscription along the inside of the lid. It looked similar to English. At least character-wise.

 

He squinted, trying to read it, "Ya tsotd esu ewe rehwe calpeh to tkcab?" He blinked, what the hell did that mean? Spencer plopped down next to him with Ryan's coffee. Ryan yanked it out of his hands and took a huge swig. Spencer rolled his eyes and nabbed the watch from him. 

 

"What the hell is this?" he asked. Ryan shrugged.

 

"I dunno, a weird dragon thing gave it to me. It's cool." 

 

Spencer gave him a look, before looking back at the watch. 

 

"What's this weird writing? You think it's like, ancient Afflian~?" he said, wiggling his fingers. Ryan snorted, staring at him unamused from over the top of his coffee. "Or… maybe it's not." Ryan deadpanned. Spencer deflated, and he pulled the watch closer when Ryan reached out for it.

 

Ryan cleared his throat. "So, uhm, I kissed Jon today..." he began, "I… I think I like him." 

 

"Yeah… I think I like him too." Spencer replied, fumbling with the watch. Ryan leaned against him, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

 

"I think I like you too, Spin." Ryan says, playing idly with a strand of Spencer's hair. Spencer blushed darker, looking over at Ryan in surprise.

 

"Don't be shocked, Spin, I know you like me too~" Ryan drawled, nuzzling against Spencer's cheek. Spencer sighed.

 

"What about Brendon, Ry? We… We can't be together…" Spencer began, but Ryan shushed him. Spencer looked at him.

 

"Poly, Spence, polyamory, it's a thing that people do," he began, "It could be you, me, Jon, *and* Brendon. Hell, Linda too, if you want–"

 

Spencer shushed him, blushing again, "Dude, c'mon, what if she hears us?" he rushed out, his voice low. Ryan snorted.

 

"Dude, she's busy right now, it's fine." Ryan reassured him, patting him on the shoulder. Spencer nodded, but he didn't look convinced. He peered over his shoulder at the counter, as if he expected Linda to be there, watching him. 

 

Spencer sighed, "Well… I guess if you like Jon and he likes us both…" he looked over at Ryan, who had a smug look on his face. Spencer huffed and continued, "Then I guess we could both date him." 

 

Ryan cheered, pecking him soundly on the cheek. Spencer snorted and kissed him on the nose, earning a squeak from Ryan. Spencer laughed.

 

"Speaking about Brendon," Ryan started, "I uh, had another dream about him. I- I talked to him this time." Spencer looked at him, unsurprised. Ryan huffed and shouldered him. "Dude, it was serious. He's been captured by this asshole, Seth, or whatever."

 

“Seth, huh,” Spencer mumbled, tilting his head. “Did you see him?”

 

Ryan shook his head. “No, Brendon just told me about him. He seems kinda scary.”

 

“Maybe Brendon is trying to ask you for help,” Spencer thought aloud.

 

Well it'd be awfully awkward if he wasn't, considering Ryan had already promised to go off and rescue him. But… Could Ryan really rescue someone from a tower owned by some big bad guy? If Seth could kidnap Brendon, then Ryan didn't like his odds.

 

“I- I dunno if I'm cut out for the whole rescuing thing,” Ryan said with an awkward shrug. “I'm just me.”

 

Spencer nudged him. “Oh, c'mon, I think you'd do fine.” Ryan gave him a look. “... With some help, maybe.” The look turned into a playful glare, and Spencer laughed quietly.

 

Ryan crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. “I just… I dunno. It seems like a tall order for me.”

 

“I mean… Brendon must have reached out to  _ you _ in particular for a reason, right?”

 

Ryan shrugged and stared at his coffee, looking unconvinced. Could he really save him? Really? As much as he wanted to believe Spencer, he just didn't know.

  
  
  
  


Ryan walked in after Spencer, hanging his coat on the coat rack. Spencer flopped onto the couch, Ryan following suit. He leaned against Spencer, staring at the blank T.V. screen. Spencer wrapped an arm around his shoulders, making Ryan's breath hitch slightly.

 

“So, uh, we're like, a thing now, right?” Spencer asked.

 

Ryan nodded slowly. “Uh, y- yeah, I guess.”

 

A small smile crossed Spencer's face. “Cool.”

 

He looked up at Spencer. Spencer smirked at him. Suddenly Spencer was leaning forward, eyes fluttering shut. Ryan closed his eyes as well, leaning forward. Their lips connected in a soft kiss, Ryan's hands fumbling to hold Spencer's hips. Spencer hummed, hand coming up to cup the back of Ryan's head. Their lips slid against each other slowly. 

 

Ryan rubbed Spencer's hips, making him chuckle, deepening the kiss. Ryan moaned softly. Spencer gently pushed him onto his back, straddling his hips. Their lips never parting for a second. Ryan's hands splayed across Spencer's back, pulling him closer. 

 

After a moment, they finally parted, faces flushed, panting softly. They smiled at each other, Spencer nuzzling into Ryan's neck.

 

“What would you have done if I said no?” Ryan mused, making Spencer laugh as he flopped against his chest.

 

“I dunno. Probably still would've kissed you.”

 

“You had this all planned out, huh.”

 

Spencer blushed, hiding his face. “Shut up.”

 

“I wasn't complaining,” Ryan chuckled.

 

“Good,” Spencer replied, “cuz it's gonna keep happening.”

  
Ryan couldn't think of anything better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henlo I actually did some stuff in this chapter (and also posted it bc technical difficulties) how wild - Riley

**Author's Note:**

> hello all! I hope you enjoy this fic, updates will be fairly sporadic, so please be patient with me~


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